Dogs love the summertime, but Culture Dogs have
their problems with the humidity. So I figure I might as well throw
down my two cents on recent compact disc releases whilst I sweat
myself silly. And if you suffer from the same solstice malaise,
remember not to sweat directly onto the surface of your compact
discs or they may not function properly. Roll on deodorant is not
an acceptable cleaning solution either. So with that knowledge secured
firmly in our brains, let’s get to it…

Radiohead – COM LAG (2plus2isfive) (Parlophone Japan)

Friends and family all know that I’m an oversized Radiohead
freak, and they often make fun of the fact that it seems I’m
buying a new release of theirs every three months or so. And they
have a point, for these nice Oxford gents are quite the prolific
songwriters. They’ve released six studio albums to date, but
the amount of ancillary material released on singles over the years
could easily double that number. In the case of their most recent
release (Hail To The Thief), three songs from the disc have been
released as singles, with a host of b-side material and remixes
to go along with them. The good news is that the Japanese market
has saved you the trouble of hunting down all five CD singles from
Europe by collecting all of the bonus material (save one –
a demo of ‘There There’ from disc one of the British
2+2=5 release) on one nicely done digipack release. The package
is adorned with Japan-inspired Stanley Donwood pen drawings, with
one artsy inner booklet attached to the inside front cover. The
other booklet (loose inside the package) contains lyrics for all
of the songs in English and plenty of other notes in Japanese. The
back features a nifty looking map of the Caspian Sea and a drawing
of an angry looking bear with ‘despot’ emblazoned across
his chest. But I digress.

The one track only available here (as an official release at least)
is a live version of ‘2+2=5’ recorded at Earl’s
Court, London. That entire show is readily available through less
official sources, and this track is a strange inclusion since it’s
probably the most poorly mixed of the whole show. The low E string
of the intro guitar line is extremely loud, thereby distorting the
rhythm of the melody. Gripe. Gripe. Gripe.

The two remixes on the disc are Christian Vogel’s ‘Remyxomatosis’
and Four Tet’s version of Scatterbrain. Both feature relatively
spare beats and the latter introduces some chaotic chimes and metallic
clangs to the proceedings. Not quite a remix, but rather a different
version of ‘I Will’ appears, this one labeled the ‘Los
Angeles Version’. It’s less electronic than the original,
and ambles along with a smooth, Norah Jones-ish style. Another alternate
version is ‘Fog (again)’, a live version from a London
studio session that presents a solo piano take of the song previously
released as an Amnesiac b-side.

What everybody wants though, are the new songs. And there are five
here. ‘Paperbag Writer’ (get it?) begins with tinny,
funky drums in the left channel accompanied by bizarre, synthetic
wave sounds on the right. The song builds from there as Thom Yorke’s
disembodied voice floats around you and Colin Greenwood’s
two note bass stings start appearing. ‘I Am A Wicked Child’
starts like Radiohead’s imagining of a 60’s garage band,
and I could swear I heard a harmonica in the song. Though guitarist
Johnny Greenwood is a tricky sot, so it could’ve been a guitar
enhanced to sound like one. ‘I Am Citizen Insane’ builds
a weird underwater sound over a looping melody until a beat reminiscent
of Kid A’s ‘Idioteque’ kicks in to get your feet
tapping. ‘Where Bluebirds Fly’ is an ambient techno
groove that was heard as the band’s intro music during their
recent stateside tours. ‘Gagging Order’ is a bit of
an anomaly amidst a collection of more or less electronic musings.
This track consists of a Dylan-esque acoustic guitar line and Yorke’s
voice. Oddly reminiscent of the track ‘Lozenge of Love’
from their pre-The Bends EP ‘My Iron Lung’, this is
a really good tune that lets us know that it’s safe to ‘Move
along. There’s nothing left to see. Just a body.’

And on that ominous note, I’ll let you know that this Japanese
release is definitely worth looking up if you’re a Radiohead
fan. Newcomers should probably examine the studio releases first,
but there’s some crackin’ good stuff here.

Another interesting recent release is Rasputina – Frustration
Plantation (Instinct Records). Rasputina is/was a group of young
ladies who like to rock out… on the cello. I caught them live
with Bob Mould in the mid-nineties, and since then they’ve
released a handful of studio albums and EPs, lead singer Melora
Creager being the only member of the Ladies’ Cello Society
to appear on them all. And once again her newest release sees all
members of the last album Cabin Fever jettisoned in favor of new
cellist Zoe Keating and the male drummer Jonathon TeBeest.

Rasputina’s sound has remained intact, with distorted rockers
like ‘Possum of the Grotto’, ‘Saline the Salt
Lake Queen’ and ‘If Your Kisses Can’t Hold the
Man You Love’ which includes the brilliant advice “Neglected
girls shouldn’t worry – that’s what God made sailors
for!” Melora also explores her tendencies to create faux-historical
musical essays with ‘My Captivity By Savages’, a reading
of the diary of a young girl kidnapped by Indians. And forced to
endure their advances, which she apparently does not mind after
all. Other tunes include ‘The Mayor’, a slow, dreamy
number, and how can you resist the wiles of a song entitled ‘Momma
Was An Opium Smoker’? Early releases of the disc are housed
in a doublewide digipack with a second CD containing remixes and
alternate versions of the Plantation songs, and at least one outtake
from the Cabin Fever sessions. Some may find the distorted cello
rock on this disc an acquired taste, but I love it.

Another talented woman rocker is ex-Hole bassist Melissa Auf Der
Maur, and her first solo release Auf Der Maur (Capitol/EMI) is a
pleasant surprise. Don't necessarily expect a new Courtney Love,
since Melissa oftentimes sounds more like PJ Harvey, Kim Gordon
and (specifically on the track ‘Head Unbound’) Siouxsie
Sioux. If the instruments are mainly focused on rocking you at all
times, the vocals tend to shift gears to a more melodic pop sensibility
during most of the choruses. Hosts of worthy session musicians helps
bring this project to life, and just about every member of Queens
of the Stone Age appears at one point or another. Queens’s
front man Josh Homme co writes three tracks with Melissa, and you
can clearly hear his influence. ‘I’ll Be Anything You
Want’ sounds like some of the weirder Queens material, and
‘I Need I Want I Will’ has Homme singing background
vocals as Melissa delivers her own Rasputina-like story about people
erecting a building dedicated to loud stereo sound. The Chris Goss/Homme
penned piano ditty ‘Overpower Thee’ showcases Melissa’s
voice at it’s best, almost reminiscent of a Portishead song.
But if you want to rock the rest of the material will do you justice,
with ‘Real A Lie’, ‘Followed The Waves’
and ‘Taste You’ being the standouts that come to mind.
A bonus, French language version of the latter song lays buried
at the end of track twelve.

And last but not least, we have the release that I have already
deemed the BEST ROCK ALBUM OF THE YEAR! The Eagles of Death Metal
– Peace Love Death Metal (AntAcidAudio) Once again we are
forced to deal with one of my favorite bands,
the Queens of the Stone Age, and their many side projects. This
time Queens’s leader Josh Homme has dropped his voice, guitar
and name (here he’s billed as both “Baby Duck”
and the brilliant moniker “Carlo Von Sexron”) in favor
of a set of sloppily played drums. The star of the show here is
Homme’s friend John Hughes (or J. Devil Huge), who has crafted
a pile of magnificent garage rock anthems that will make you shake
your moneymaker. I swear. The opening track ‘I Only Want You’
rocks too danged much, so if you’re listening to it in your
car you may get a traffic ticket for the lead foot it will create.
The rest of the numbers are relatively bluesy, especially the frightening
‘Midnight Creeper’. A cover of ‘Stuck in the Middle’
(retitled ‘Stuck in the Metal’) rears its head, surrounded
by anthemic monstrosities that praise the devil, the wonders of
whorehopping and the beatific land of San Bernardino. Not to mention
the many moments of lyrical genius, like the song ‘Bad Dream
Mama’ and its line “I Want to be your Monkey.”

If you’re expecting a death metal album, don’t. If
you’re expecting garage rock ala The Strokes (ad infinitum),
don’t. These guys aren’t trying to recreate a sound
from the past. They’re just doing it naturally. If you’re
expecting the best rock album of the year, go ahead and do it. And
on that note, I’ll disappear back into the sediment only to
arise and rock out anew. When that will be, who knows? But in the
meantime, spin and enjoy!